


Up In The Air

by myoldfriend



Category: The Bold Type
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-04
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2019-01-08 21:32:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12262488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myoldfriend/pseuds/myoldfriend
Summary: AU where Adena and Kat meet on a flight.





	1. JFK to DXB

Adena El-Amin is a professional at flying. She only carries one bag with her on the plane, never lugs a carry on around. She always wears a loose and breathable headscarf, always layers, and wears shoes that she can take on and off quickly. She is extra polite to airport security, always making an effort to speak clearly and doesn’t let her guard down until she’s sitting comfortably at her gate. She still refuses to fly in casual wear, doesn’t do sweat pants or pajamas. She keeps a pair of leggings and a comfortable top in her handbag for back up. Always flies with dates and cashews tucked in her bag in case she gets hungry, and a miniature Q’uran that her mother gave her the first time she left home alone.

When she first started flying a lot she’d kiss the small book and then press it to her forehead, now she just presses her fingers to her lips before patting the book. She always says a pray for safe travels in her head. She’s realized that you learn an awful lot about people when you travel with them, habits you never realized, how they act in small spaces. Up in the air everything is slightly skewed, everyone is a slightly tweaked version of themself, and emotions are always high. Adena always finds this interesting, and has thought about doing a photo series of people in an airport or on airplanes.

This particular flight is a home going, and there are no deadlines to worry about, no meetings to attend, no calls to take. Adena is going home on a redeye to visit her family and attend a friend’s wedding. This is a happy flight where Adena can relax and she has a window seat and is so very desperate to have an empty seat next to her on the 13-hour flight to Dubai before her connecting flight to Tehran.

So, when a loud American talking on her cellphone, with a huge backpack and a carry on behind her stops at Adena’s row and looks up to check the number, Adena silently hopes she doesn’t sit down. But the woman says into her phone, “Guys, I’m at my seat now, so I’ll call when I land okay? Love you too”. The girl gives Adena a polite smile after she stows her bag away.

 

_“Bebakhshen, mesha man ra be keefam komak kunnen?”_ Minutes later an old lady across from their aisle asks, looking at Adena’s seatmate. “Um, I’m so sorry, I don’t speak Arabic” the girl says, and looks around to see if anyone else can help.

“ _Baleh khanum_ ” Adena says nodding at the lady, “She asking if you can help her with her bag” Adena says to the girl sitting next to her.

“Oh! Of course” She gets up smiling, and helps the lady stow her bags away. The lady thanks her as she sits down, the girl turns to Adena again, “Um, how do you say ‘you’re welcome’ in Arabic?”

“You can say _Khahesh mikonam_ ,” Adena tells her. The girl leans in closer with her ear forward and eyes tight in concentration, “Can you say that one more time please?” she asks. “Kha. Hesh. Mi. Konam” Adena repeats slower, keeping her eyes trained on the curls around the girl’s ear. The girl nods and turns around to the old lady to relay the word before she forgets it.

“Thanks” the girl smiles at Adena. “ _Khahesh mikonam”_ Adena says smiling, her seatmate laughs, “Touché”. “You know,” Adena says, “She’s actually speaking Farsi though, not Arabic”. The girl looks at her wide eyed and shuts them, bringing her hands to cover her face, “You’re kidding, I feel so silly now, oh my god”. Adena laughs it off, “It’s okay”. 

“I just figured it was Arabic since we’re flying to Dubai…” the girl rambles. Adena nods, “Hm you’re right, there are a lot of connecting flights to other countries in the Middle East going from Dubai though, I’m getting a connecting flight to Tehran from there.”

“Oh okay, that makes a lot of sense, I feel so dumb now.” The girl shakes her head, “I bet it’s kinda obvious it’s my first time going to the Middle East,” she says. She then reaches her hand out, “I’m Kat, by the way.” Adena shakes her hand softly, “Adena, it’s nice to meet you Kat”. “Adena” Kat repeats making sure she’s got it right, “Yeah, nice to meet you too”.

 

“So…” Kat turns to Adena and is about to say something when the pilot’s voice comes on overhead and insists that they pay attention to the flight attendants presentation about seatbelts and emergency landings. Kat rolls her eyes but pays attention; Adena knows this routine by heart now and takes this time to say a quick silent prayer in her head.

She studies Kat’s profile under her eyelashes, finally getting a proper look at her seatmate, something she hardly bothers to do usually. They’ve already exchanged more words than Adena usually does with her travel companions. Adena can’t help her curiosity, what is this girl doing on a flight to Dubai? Usually Adena would assume she’s going to party for a week straight at daddy’s expense, but she doesn’t strike her as the type. No, those types of girls never bother to ask how to say, “you’re welcome” in Arabic or Farsi, they strongly believe that English is universal, and if they say it louder the message will finally get across. The flight attendant finally finishes her spiel and Kat turns to her, catching Adena staring at her.

Kat smiles, “Um, I was gonna ask you before she started doing her thing… so are you from Iran?” Her voice goes up a little at the end, a little unsure and cautious of her question. Adena nods, “Yes, I was born and raised in Tehran, I haven’t lived there for a while though”.

Kat nods “Oh that’s cool, are you living in New York now?” she asks. “For now, until I figure out what the next move is” Adena answers, “Yeah I feel you, this actually might be my next move.” Kat confesses.

Adena eyebrows raise, “You’re moving to Dubai?” “Maybe?” Kat tilts her head “I’m not really sure, the company I work for is thinking about expanding in the Middle East and Asia, so I’m going to this meeting to try to convince some hotshot investors to give us money so we can do that, and if it all goes well I’ll stay in Dubai for a while to help with the expansion.” Adena is impressed, “You must be very good at your job then”. Kat quirks her eyebrow, “I try” she clears her throat, “So what about you, can I ask what you do?”

“I’m a photographer” she says, “I just recently had a gallery opening downtown”.

“Wait” Kat says suddenly and looks at Adena with her eyebrows lowered and eyes squinted, “You’re Adena El-Amin?”

Adena laughs in shock, “Yeah, how did you know?” “No way, oh my god, my best friend Jane was there to cover your show! I was even supposed to go but I got sick! How funny is that?” Kat says shaking her head in disbelief now. “You’re kidding, what publication was she from?” Adena asks, trying to remember a Jane from that night.

“Scarlet magazine, I’m actually the social media director there” Kat says, sitting a little straighter. Adena’s face betrays her, because before she can control it her eyebrows are raised in disbelief, “Wait, you’re the social media director for Scarlet?” Kat nods slowly, “Yup”. “I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but you’re so young,” Adena says carefully. Kat shakes her head, “No worries, I get that a lot actually. I got really lucky with this job, and it turns out I really like it”.

Adena finally starts to take notice of Kat, that way she’s sitting with her phone still in her lap, fiddling with it every few seconds. The way her hair is pulled back behind her, pillowing her head. The long patterned cardigan that’s hugging her and the light scarf that hangs around her neck. Not wanting to seem rude, Adena brings her eyes back up to meet Kat’s, “I have to admit, I’m impressed”.

Kat laughs, “You’re impressed with me? I’m supposed to be impressed with you! Jane told me all about you before the show, you’re an out Muslim lesbian and you’re creating amazing art in the face of all this bullshit that’s happening” she says waving her hand around. 

Adena shrugs smiling, “We can be impressed with each other then”. Kat looks at her with squinted eyes, “How well can you keep a secret?” Adena mirrors her face, “Why?” “Because I wanna tell you something I shouldn’t be telling you” Kat says. Adena simply lifts a brow in response. 

“Okay, so you know how my friend Jane covered your show? Well, we were actually thinking we should do a whole spread about you instead” Kat says. Adena nods slowly, “Hmmm, that’s interesting” she says, trying to pick her words carefully.

“‘Interesting’, like yay let’s do it?” Kat asks hopefully. “More like, ‘hmm interesting’, I’ll think about it.” Adena tells her, “Look Kat, don’t take this poorly, but Scarlet is a magazine about boys and how to have a better orgasm, why does your magazine want to do a spread on me?”

“Our magazine is incredibly feminist, that’s actually a common misconception. Plus we think it would be a great platform for you, and it would be amazing to bring this story to our readers, to introduce thousands of young girls to you. Maybe, someone will find themself finally represented because we do a story on you.” Kat says with a shrug.

 

Never in a million years would Adena think that she’d be having this conversation on a plane. Adena almost wants to laugh at the whole situation, if she wasn’t so frustrated in the moment. Kat has a point, she can admit that. She hates that she has to admit this. Usually Adena would never even entertain the possibility of giving a magazine like Scarlet her time, her story, or her voice. But Kat makes a point, and part of Adena wants to say yes right there, but she cautions herself. “I’m not even really in work mode right now, but when I come back from my trip I will have my assistant get in contact and I’ll think about it, okay?” She says, acquiescing.

“Here, let me just give you my contact information, and I’ll try to answer as many of your questions as I can, and whatever I can’t answer I’ll hook you up with our writers or whoever else”. Kat digs around in her bag for a business card to give Adena. Kat hands her the card smiling, “Okay, no more work talk from me anymore”. Adena laughs, “Thank you, I appreciate that. You can talk about your work though if you want”. Kat shakes her head, “Nah, I should really relax before this presentation”.

“Speaking of relaxing, I’m gonna try to sleep a little bit” Adena says. Kat nods her head, “Oh yeah, of course”. Kat digs around for her headphones as Adena tries to get comfortable in her seat. She scrolls through the movies and TV shows, looking for something easy to watch for the long flight. Instead she comes across The Salesman, and remembers it winning an Oscar earlier that year. She remembers the director boycotting because of the travel ban at the time. “Hey, isn’t this that Iranian director…” She turns to find Adena already sleeping. 

Kat watches the movie and tries to focus. She finds her mind drifting a few times, she thinks about her decision to go to Dubai for the millionth time. She remembers Jane and Sutton’s reaction when she first told them. They were both supportive, but they didn’t hide their confusion, “I mean, you’d be totally amazing at it, but why Dubai?” Jane asked.

Kat shrugged enthusiastically, “Why not Dubai? I mean the world is out there, people are out there and I haven’t seen any of it. This way I can go for work, and for myself” She told them, trying to rationalize her decision. Sutton had nodded and rubbed her arm in support, “I think you’re gonna kick ass over there”. So, with her barely stamped passport and one too many Google searches about what to expect in Dubai, she approached Jacqueline about letting her spearhead the new expansion.

Kat finishes the movie and wishes Adena were awake. She wonders if Adena’s seen it. She wants to talk about the movie, ask Adena what she thinks of it. Kat looks over at Adena who is still sleeping, with her bent knees hugged closely, and her sweater wrapped over her shoulders like a blanket and her head resting uncomfortably on her own shoulder. Kat studies Adena’s thick eyebrows, pouted lips, and the baby hairs peeking out from under her loose headscarf. She shuffles down in her seat a little, so her shoulder is level to Adena’s head. Kat wouldn’t mind if Adena’s head happened to rest on her shoulder.

 

Kat falls in infatuation, not love. She falls in infatuation multiple times a day. She's infatuated with the man with the magnificent beard that is usually already seated on the train by the time she gets on every morning. She's infatuated with the barista who makes her lattes, the one with the nose ring and the loud, clear laugh. She was infatuated with her high school chemistry teacher who was Armenian, hanging on to her every word, dying to hear the lilt in her voice. Kat was a great chemistry student because of her keen fondness of the woman. Kat is often infatuated with people. 

She doesn't think much of her infatuation with Adena. She figures it's because Adena is so different, unlike anyone she's ever met. An unapologetic out Muslim lesbian, who doesn't care that others don't get her, or approve of her.

Kat wonders about all the Muslims she's met in her life, she wonders if any of them were gay. Maybe her babysitter when she was little, her middle school math teacher, her neighbor who brings her cookies on Eid, Kat wonders about them. She almost wants to wake Adena up right then and ask her, "aren't you scared?" "how are you so brave?" "why did you decide to do this?". But she doesn't, instead she asks the man sitting in front of her, who is writing in a journal, for a sheet of paper. She finds a pen in her bag and starts writing in her best handwriting. 

She makes a list of bullet points about why Adena should do the spread for Scarlet, citing how strong she is, how important her art is, how impactful it will be. Kat has to stop herself from writing, “maybe it’ll let us hang out again in the future”. Kat doesn’t think much of her infatuation; she just knows that she wants to know more about Adena. She doesn’t allow herself to think that maybe she’s infatuated because she thinks Adena is stunning, and Kat can’t help but stare. She doesn’t think about the fact that she wouldn’t mind if Adena’s hand brushed against hers. She doesn’t think about the fact that she’s counting down the hours until the flight lands, because she wants to make sure she leaves Adena with a good first impression.

***

Adena wakes up and immediately realizes something is weighing on her shoulder. Then she registers what woke her up, the soft hair that was tickling her face. She quickly remembers where she is and who is on her shoulder before she moves around too much. With her free hand she taps on the little screen in front of her and checks how much longer until they land in Dubai. Only four more hours, Adena is surprised she slept that long.

She closes her eyes again, resting her head on the wall. She wakes up again when she feels Kat shift, and then all at once she sits up. “M’sorry” Kat says sleepily as she tries to look awake. Adena shakes her head, “Please, don’t apologize. I’ve had worse flights, and plus your hair smells very good.” Kat laughs, “Thanks, and you were a pretty good pillow”. 

“Would you mind letting me out?” Adena points towards the aisle. “Oh yeah, of course” Kat unbuckles her seatbelt and stands to let Adena out. She takes a little make up bag with her and thanks Kat before walking towards the back of the plane. Once alone, Kat opens the front camera of her phone to make sure her mascara isn’t too smudged, and looks for mints in her bag. She internally scolds herself for forgetting her travel size perfume. She’s still rummaging through her bag when Adena comes back, and she’s holding two bottles of water.

 

“Here, would you like some water?” She asks as Kat stands to let her back into the row. “Oh, thanks so much” Kat says, unscrewing the top. She takes a sip before wordlessly offering Adena her pack of mints. “ _Merci”_ She says, taking one. “Hey, you speak French too? Show off” Kat says. Adena laughs, “I do speak French actually, but _merci_ is also how we say thank you in Farsi. _Merci_ is the colloquial way, you can also say _tashakur_ if you want to be formal.”

“I’ll stick with _merci,”_ Kat says jokingly, “What other languages do you speak?” Adena shakes her head, sucking on the mint, “Just those three”. Kat rolls her eyes, “Oh yeah, _just_ three languages, meanwhile I’m struggling to just speak the one half the time.” Adena rolls her eyes in return, waving Kat off “You’re young, you can learn another if you want”.

“Maybe you can teach me…” Kat immediately regrets the words as soon as they come out of her mouth. They sounded so suggestive, so loaded, so utterly flirty. She holds her breath for a second, scared of what Adena will say. She wasn’t even thinking when it came out of her mouth, a side effect of her overconfidence according to Jane.

After a painful second of silence she looks at Adena, who is looking at her with a raised eyebrow, she simply hums in response before saying, “We’ll see” with a small smile. Kat quickly clears her throat, and changes the subject, “I watched The Salesman when you were sleeping, have you seen it before?”

Adena raises her eyebrows in surprise, “You watched The Salesman? I love that movie. It won an Oscar this past year”. Kat nods, “Yeah, I remember, and the director refused to come, because of the travel ban at the time right?” Adena smiles and nods, pleasantly surprised that Kat knows this, “That’s right. Anousheh Ansari came up and read a statement from the director, Asghar Farhadi. She’s an Iranian-American astronaut, you know?”

Kat shakes her head, “Oh no, I didn’t know that part.” Adena shuffles in her seat a little to better face Kat. “Yeah” she continues, “she’s great, she’s actually the first Iranian who went to space, and she’s the co-founder and chairwomen of her own technology company now, and she used to be the CEO of Telecom. It was a real insult to the president, you know? Farhadi deliberately chose this incredibly strong and ridiculously accomplished immigrant to accept the award on his behalf, it was brilliant.”

“Like you” Kat says simply, this time with confidence. There’s no reason to be embarrassed she rationalizes with herself, _you’re simply stating facts Kat, no need to stress_. Adena looks at her, and if Kat was a betting person she’d bet that Adena had turned a light shade of red. But she quickly recovers, “Well look who’s talking, miss director of social media”. Kat laughs, “I guess we’re a couple of kick ass women, huh?” 

“Oh no, is this the part where you say that’s why we should get together and do the article together?” Adena says jokingly. “No way, I said no more work talk, and I meant it Adena El-Amin” Kat says, with her hand on her chest, pretending to be offended. “You’re right Kat Edison, you’re right I’m the one who brought it up, I’m sorry” Adena says with a smile, bowing her head. “You’re forgiven” Kat says. Their eyes linger on each other, Adena takes note of Kat’s smile, wide and easy. Kat notices how Adena’s eyelashes, dark and thick, kiss her eyelids with every blink.

 

The muffled speaker crackling to life interrupts them; the pilot starts speaking in Arabic before he switches to English, asking the attendants and passengers to prepare for landing. Adena quirks her eyebrow at Kat before buckling her seatbelt again and making sure everything is back in her handbag. Kat packs away her headphones and charger, and remembers the note she wrote for Adena she tucked in the seat pocket in front of her.

“Okay, so since you brought up work, I have one last thing to say about it” Kat says, pulling out the folded paper from the pocket in front of her. “I wrote you a letter about why you should do the article. Don’t read it now obviously, when you’re ready to get back to work you can give it a read, okay?” Kat holds the letter out to Adena.

Adena looks at her with curious eyes, “Kat, you wrote me a letter?” She takes the folded paper and peeks inside, getting a glimpse of Kat’s handwriting. Kat shrugs, “I couldn’t text you since we’re on a plane, and I wanted to make sure I said it all to you. But really, you don’t need to read it until you’re ready to get back to work.” Adena places the letter carefully in her handbag, “Don’t worry, I’ll read it”.

 

The plane starts its descent and Adena silently says another quick prayer in her head. Kat is sitting up straight in her chair, hands clutching at her armrests. Adena looks at her with a small smile, and tries not to laugh. She decides to take pity on the girl and distract her, “So how long will you be in Dubai for Kat?”

Kat looks at her distractedly, “Huh? Um, I’ll be here for a week”. “Are you going to do any sight seeing while you’re here?” Adena asks. “I’m gonna try to, I was so busy preparing for the presentation I didn’t really get a chance to look up other stuff to do, I’m probably gonna just look up some stuff on my phone as I go” She finally rips her eyes away from the flight tracker screen in front of her, looking at Adena. “I’ve been to Dubai a few times, I can send you some stuff to do, if you want” Adena says shrugging.

Kat finally cracks a smile, “Yeah, I’d like that”. “Great, I will ask my sister what she suggests too when I see her, she’s a big shopper”. “Oh we’d get along great then” Kat says. “Is your email address also listed on your business card, so I can send you a list?” Adena asks. “It is, but it’s my work email, which is fine, but why don’t I give you my cellphone number instead?” “Yeah that’s fine” Adena passes her cellphone and watches Kat type her name and number in. “Here you go” Kat says with a smile handing it back.

“I’ll give you a text when we land, and then I’ll ask my sister what else she suggests when I see her” Adena says throwing her phone back in her bag. Kat waves her hand, “Yeah, don’t worry about it whenever you get a chance”.

The landing gear of the plane makes contact with the ground before Kat realizes they’ve landed. Adena notices the surprise on her face, and considers her distraction to be a success. There is a symphony of rings and phone notifications as the pilot announces they can now use their phones again. The seatbelt light is turned off and everyone goes to gather their things.

Kat stands up and opens their overhead bin, she pauses before taking her bag down, and turns around to open the old lady’s overhead bin from the beginning of the flight. She gently places the places the carry on bag on the floor and taps the lady on the shoulder and points to it. The lady gives her a friendly smile and pats her hand in thanks.

“ _Doostet kheli khoshgele”_ The lady says to Adena. Adena looks at Kat tracing her face with her eyes, before saying, “ _Areh khanum, rast megen”_. Kat looks at her, “What’d she say?” “She said you’re very pretty”. Kat laughs and turns to lady, “ _Merci”._

Kat pulls her own bag down from the overhead bin, “Adena do you have anything up here?” she asks. “No, I’m good, thank you though.” Adena checks her seat one more time, careful not to forget anything and walks slowly behind Kat, exiting the plane.

 

They walk down the long corridor after getting off the plane, the two of them walk slowly happy to walk after the long flight. Businessmen, families, folks visiting home, and the odd people that look like they don’t belong in Dubai’s airport surround them. Adena has grown accustomed to these different people that she flies with, but from time to time she wonders if there’s anyone like her. Usually traveling alone, usually away from home, always wondering what the next move is, where else her life will take her. She feels a little envious of Kat, who is walking next to her, trying to take it all in. Kat stares at the walls and the posters, while Adena has seen them plenty of times before.

They reach the end of the corridor, where the exit and the connecting flights split apart. Kat finally peels her eyes away from inspecting the airport to face Adena. “Well Kat, good luck with your presentation, I hope it goes well and I will text you as soon as I can about some places to go for sight seeing” Adena says.

“Thanks again for that, I appreciate it. I hope you have a nice time at home, and hopefully I’ll hear from you soon about the article for Scarlet” Kat says. “Yes, don’t worry, when I go back to New York I will consider it” Adena says. “That’s all I ask” she says laughing, she reaches her hand out. Adena takes one look at her outreached hand and takes it, but doesn’t shake it, “You’re in the Middle East now, you have to do two kisses on the cheek”.

“Oh, I guess you're right” Kat says, their clasped hands still between them. Adena puts her other hand on Kat’s shoulder, and leans in placing a chaste kiss to Kat’s cheeks. “Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it” Adena says jokingly. She waves at Kat and turns to walk away.

“Adena!” Kat calls after her. Adena turns around, “Don’t forget about the letter!” Kat says, raising her voice to be heard. “You’re relentless” Adena shouts back. “You have no idea,” Kat says with a wink before waving and walking away.


	2. The Learning Process

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Kat and Adena learn from, and about, each other.

Adena finally understands the frustration and utter joy that is texting. She had always kept her phone close, leaving the ringer on loud and making sure she doesn’t miss a call from her mother. But now she _gets_ it. She gets why people constantly fiddle with their phones, constantly check to see if they have new messages, and are constantly worried about their battery life. It is exhausting, exhilarating and annoying, but most of all it’s exciting.

It starts with Adena fulfilling her promise to Kat and sending her a list of things to do in Dubai. She categorizes it, listing her favorite places to eat, things to see, and places to go to shop. 

_Thanks so much, I really appreciate it! Hope you enjoy your vacation!_ Kat replies.

_Merci! Enjoy Dubai and best of luck with your presentation!_ Adena texts back.

 

Two days later Adena receives another text, this time with a picture included. It’s a picture of Kat wearing a baby blue kaftan standing in the middle of the Deira market, with the message, _Thanks for the suggestion!_

Adena decides to send a picture back, she puts down the book she’s reading and takes a selfie of herself in her parent’s garden. The plum tree she’s sitting against fills the image and the sunlight breaks through the branches, shining on her face. _Love your kaftan, happy you’re enjoying Dubai!_ Before she can stop herself Adena also writes, _How was your presentation?_

The response comes quickly, _Haven’t done it yet, presentation is in two days_!

  

Two days later when Adena is up early for a hike with her sister she takes a picture of the view. She sends it to Kat with a quick _Good luck today!_ Sara looks at her with a curious look, “Who are texting this early?” Adena shrugs, “My friend Kat” she says simply, continuing their trek, not wanting to answer any more questions.

Adena doesn’t expect Kat to answer right away, but regardless she keeps her cellphone tucked in the waistband of her pants all day, waiting for it to buzz. Kat finally answers hours later, and Adena almost doesn’t want to open the message. _Sorry for the late response! Thanks so much for the message, I think it well pretty well, now we wait and see…_ Kat’s message reads.

 

 

A week after Adena returns to New York she decides to show up in person to tell Kat that she'll do the article. If she's being honest she knew she'd do it the second Kat winked at her at the airport, but she's enjoyed stretching it out. She doesn't tell Kat that she's going to come to the office, hoping to surprise her. Adena doesn't realize she's been imagining it in her head, how the office will look, how Kat will look, what she'll be wearing, if she'll be happy to her. She takes a deep breath in the elevator scolding herself for even thinking these things.  
  
She tells the secretary at the front that she's looking for Kat Edison. She leans against the front desk, flipping through a copy of Scarlet, trying to imagine her face plastered across the pages. Her manager Firuze had insisted that Adena see this through and do the article. Adena does not share Firuze’s sense of urgency about the matter, but the idea of seeing Kat again does persuade her.

“Kat, someone’s in the front for you,” the secretary tells Kat. “Okay, thank you” Kat figures it’s a package she has to sign off for. Her heart jumps into her throat when she sees Adena. She feels giddy, like her name is going to bubble out of her mouth, _Adena Adena Adena_. Kat stupidly sticks her hand out, but Adena waves it away and pulls her into a hug instead.  

"I hope it's okay that I just showed up like this, but I wanted to come give you the good news myself" Adena says, "I'll do the spread for Scarlet". Kat's lets out a sigh of relief, "Oh my god, I'm so happy and I'm so excited! This is going to be great, I promise you!" 

Adena nods, "Good, I'm going to hold you personally accountable if it's not" she says with a quirk of her eyebrow. Kat laughs, "That's not a lot of pressure at all, huh?" “Well, you wrote me that beautiful letter, so I’m expecting you to top that” Adena says with a playful shrug. Kat nods still smiling, “I’ll try my best”. Kat’s mind had wandered back to Adena throughout her trip, trying to remember how she pronounced certain things, trying to remember what she said about her work, trying to remember what color her shoes were. “It’s so good to see you again”, she says. It comes out quietly, like a confession.

Adena smiles with a tilt of her head, “Yeah, you too”. Kat’s smile grows a little wider. "Oh!" Adena says opening her handbag, "I brought you something from Tehran". "Oh my goodness, you didn't have to do that Adena, plus now I feel bad I don't have anything for you from Dubai". 

"Please, it's nothing" pulls out a white paper envelope. "Are you allergic to any fruits?" Adena asks, before she gives Kat the envelope. 

"Um, no?" Kat says, confused about what that has to do with what's in the envelope. "Okay good" she opens the envelope to show Kat, "this is  _lavashak,_ it's Persian fruit leather, there's a piece made from sour cherries and one from sour plums" she hands the envelope to Kat, "My mom made fresh batches of it when I was there since she knows it’s my favorite, I hope you like it”.

“Oh wow, this is no nice of you Adena, I can’t wait to try it” Kat says, “You know, they kinda look like fruit roll ups”. Adena’s eyebrows furrow, “Fruit roll ups?” she repeats. Kat looks up from the envelope in her hand, realizing Adena doesn’t know what a fruit roll up is. She waves her hand, “They’re these fruit candies that kids eat here,” she says. Adena nods, “Oh okay, well I hope you like it”.

 

A few days later Adena gets a text from Kat asking for her address, “I’m going to have a courier deliver some potential templates for the spread, if that’s okay?” the text read. A young intern shows up at her door an hour later with a folder and a plastic grocery bag. He lifts the bag, “And this is from Kat” he says. She finds a colorful box of fruit roll ups and a note attached, “Definitely not as good as yours, but thought you might want to try the American junk!”  

  

Soon it evolves, they go from sporadic texting to being in constant contact. Talking about everything and nothing, complaining about train delays, traffic, work and schedules. Slowly they learn more about each other, Adena learns about Kat’s friends and Kat learns that Adena likes staying up late to review her work and plan for the next day.

It never seems to be enough for Kat; it becomes an irrational need to talk to Adena, to get her to reveal something about herself, to tease her, to compliment her. She can’t help but hold her breath a little bit whenever her phone goes off, always hoping it’s Adena.

 

The social media department expands in New York, so Kat decides to stay put for a while. She decides that the aching feeling in her heart to go out there and explore the world is nothing compared to the need to be around Adena. Kat decides New York with Adena is better than Dubai without her. She confesses this to her one night when Adena asks how the Dubai project is going. When Adena kisses her in response Kat decides it was her best decision yet.

 

 

When they finally start dating Kat learns even more about Adena. She has to learn not to freak out whenever she wakes up around dawn and Adena isn’t in bed because she’s up praying _fajr_. She has to learn to accept bobby pins and safety pins all over the place because Adena needs them to pin her hijab. She has to remember to buy turkey bacon when she’s making breakfast for Adena. She has to think twice before opening a bottle of wine, even though Adena insists that she doesn’t care if Kat drinks when they’re together.

The first month they started dating Kat didn’t touch a drop of alcohol in front of Adena, unsure of how to bring up her dilemma. It wasn’t until they were out to dinner one night with Jane and Sutton, and Sutton asked for the wine list. “Oh Kat, they have your favorite bottle of red, let’s get that” She says before passing the list to Jane.

“Nah, I’m gonna stick with my water” she says shrugging her shoulders. “Ummm, are you saying no to wine? They have your favorite” Jane says, oblivious to her problem. Adena slides her hand across the booth their sitting in and squeezes Kat’s, “You know you can totally drink around me right? Just because I don’t drink doesn’t mean you don’t have to either” she says. Kat looks at her, “Are you sure? I just feel so bad for some reason”.

“Honestly Kat, it’s absolutely fine, I don’t want you to feel bad” Adena insists. Kat squeezes Adena’s hand before turning back to Jane and Sutton who are still looking at the wine list, “Okay let’s get that bottle of red”. “Is that alright with you Adena?” Sutton asks. “I don’t drink, so please get whatever you guys like,” Adena says with a smile.

Kat learns that Adena doesn’t like the taste of red wine on her lips; she nearly winces when Kat kisses her after dinner. It’s a peculiar problem because Kat happens to be more affectionate after drinking. Jane and Sutton informed Adena that Kat likes to cuddle when she’s drunk, and they’ve both waken up in the past to find Kat in their bed after a night of drinking. Kat shrugs, “I can’t help it”.

Kat learns that Adena doesn’t mind the taste of white wine on her lips. She also learns that Adena actually enjoys the taste of coke and rum on her lips. They’re at art installation turned party downtown for one of Adena’s friends one night, and Kat forgoes her usual drink for something extra sweet and gets a coke and rum. She’s at the bar when Adena finds her, “There you are,” she says, wrapping her arm around Kat’s waist.

“Hi sexy” Kat says before dipping her head to kiss Adena. To Kat’s surprise Adena deepens the kiss for a moment, licking the roof of Kat’s mouth before nipping her bottom lip. “Woah” Kat pulls back in a daze, “What was that for?” Adena places another chaste kiss on Kat’s lips, “You just taste especially good tonight” she says.

Kat laughs, “I think it’s the rum and coke you like”. Kat offers Adena her glass and she smells it, “Yeah, definitely smells better than that red wine you like,” she says. Kat scoffs as she takes her cup back, “It’s an acquired taste”. Adena shrugs, “Don’t think that’s a taste I want to acquire then”. Adena asks the bartender for a coke as Kat continues to sip her drink. “You know how to say ‘cheers’ in Farsi?” Adena asks Kat, as the bartender places a glass of coke with a lime wedged on the lip in front of her.

“No” Kat shakes her head, “I didn’t even think you guys would have a word for it actually”. Adena rolls her eyes, “Please, you think people aren’t drinking in Iran just because it’s an Islamic Republic?”

“Fair point” Kat says raising her glass. Adena brings her glass up, tapping it against Kat’s, “ _Salamaati_ ”. Kat takes another healthy sip of her coke and rum before leaning forward, offering her lips to Adena. Adena smiles before closing the gap between, and Kat makes a mental note to drink rum and coke more often.

 

 

They’ve been together for months before Adena realizes that Kat has glasses. She goes over to Kat’s apartment after a late meeting with Firuze to go through her plans and commitments for the coming month. Kat texted her that she’ll leave the door unlocked for her. Adena knocks on the door nevertheless before entering the apartment. She unpins her hijab and tosses it on the couch along with her coat; Kat is still to be seen.

“Kat _kojaee joonam_?” She calls, wandering towards the bedroom. “In here!” Kat shouts just as Adena opens the bedroom door to find Kat sitting cross-legged in bed reading. Her hair is tied back with a silk scarf, her face is free of make up and she’s wearing cat-eyed glasses that Adena has never seen before. Kat sticks a metro card in the book before closing it, “Hey baby, how was your day?” Kat asks with a smile. “It was good, long, productive” Adena answers, she makes her way to the bed and its on the edge, “Since when do you wear glasses?” she asks.

"Oh, I need them to read, I don't wear them very often" Kat says pushing them up to the top of her head. "They look very nice on you" Adena says, crawling up the bed to sit in front of Kat. She gently takes the glasses off Kat's head and puts them back on her. Kat looks up at her smiling, "Thanks baby".  
  
"Oh, don't thank me just yet" she says as she pushes Kat until she's laying back. With Adena's mouth hot on her neck and her hand making it’s way down her torso, Kat decides she should wear her glasses more often. 

 

  

Kat is always amazed when she learns something new about Adena, especially when these things confuse her. This particular confusion comes when she realizes that Adena smokes when a very stressful event has passed. Kat comes home one day to find the window wide open, and Adena leaned against it. “Hey babe,” she says to get Adena’s attention. Adena turns around quickly, with a hand out the window, “Kat, you’re home”. “Wait, are you smoking?” Kat says confused, and walks over to find Adena reeking like tobacco. Adena quickly puts out the cigarette, “Shit, um…”

A wrinkle appears between Kat’s eyebrows, “Since when do you smoke, I’ve never seen you smoke”. Adena goes to the sink, holding a seashell with cigarette ashes. “I don’t smoke, it’s just a once in a blue moon thing,” she says with a shrug, rinsing the seashell and then washing her hands. Kat stands there watching Adena, wondering how many cigarettes Adena has smoked without her knowing.

Kat is suddenly torn between sounding like a concerned mother or a cool girlfriend. Concerned mothers scold you, and show you videos of what happens to your organs when you smoke, but cool girlfriends buy you expensive cigarettes and stand outside in the freezing cold with you while you smoke. “You don’t have to hide it you know, I mean if you want to smoke in front of me,” she says finally.

“It’s not that, it’s just that I don’t want to smoke in front of anyone really, it’s a little embarrassing for me because I know I shouldn’t be doing it” Adena says shrugging. Kat nods, “Yeah, I can understand that. Still, just remember you can smoke in front of me if you want” she says, not entirely sure she believes the words coming out of her own mouth.

They make dinner together, both women incredibly aware of the lingering smell of smoke in the apartment. Adena opens another window to air out the place. “I swear you smoke one cigarette and you smell horrible,” Adena says, almost to herself. Kat leans over from her spot at the sink, peeling carrots, and smells Adena’s hair “Oh yeah, your hair reeks of it” she says. Adena groans and ties her hair up. “How have I never smelled it on you before?” Kat asks. Adena shrugs, “I haven’t smoked one in months, so maybe that’s why?” she stirs the vegetables in the wok in front of her.

Kat peels carrots in silence for a few minutes, still thinking about walking in on Adena smoking. She didn’t want Adena to smoke, it was a horrible habit that nobody should have, and especially not her girlfriend. Her girlfriend who had a voice like tightly woven silk, perfect skin, and a magnificent body that didn’t deserve to be ruined. She wondered if Adena was even _allowed_ to smoke, she didn’t drink at all, and Kat would assume this would be the same. She looked over at Adena, who was oblivious to her confusion and adding even more fresh garlic to the food. 

“Okay, I gotta ask you something” Kat says, putting down the vegetable peeler. “Uh-oh” Adena says jokingly. Kat clears her throat, “A long time ago I asked you why you wear your hijab and you said because it frees you from other people’s expectations about what a woman should look like, right?”

Adena hums in agreement, unsure of where this is going. “And you don’t drink” Kat continues, “And I don’t know, I’d say you’re a good Muslim right?” Adena nods slowly, “I’d like to think so”. “Isn’t smoking also a sin though?” Kat asks, her voice going up at the end, unsure of her question.

Adena doesn’t answer for a second; instead she lowers the heat of the pan and then turns to face Kat. “The short answer you’re looking for is yes, some will say that smoking is a sin because it’s bad for your health and it’s a form of intoxication and addiction,” Adena says. “The long answer?” Kat asks.

“Do you remember what else I said to you that day?” Adena asks, Kat furrows her brow, unsure of the answer Adena’s looking for. “I told you, I don’t like being put in a box,” Adena says with a quirk of an eyebrow. Kat gives her a small smile, “And you like making people uncomfortable”. “That’s right” Adena says with a nod.

“Kat, I’m not a perfect Muslim, trust me nobody is,” She says. “I think that’s why I live my life the way I do, because I want everyone to know how horribly complex I am, and every other Muslim is, I mean all humans are, no?” Kat nods in agreement. “I mean you know how many times I stayed up late just absolutely petrified that someone will find out that I like girls? Or how my father had a bottle of whiskey hid in his closet and he never ever drank in front of us? Or how my mother’s family never spoke about the fact that they lost a cousin to drug addiction?”

“All these Islamic Republics are complex, even if their own people don’t recognize it” Adena continues with a shrug. “They’re filled with people who think they’re the only ones scared and confused and dealing with their own complexities, but in reality they aren’t. Fear and oppression are powerful tools, you know?” She takes a deep breath before continuing, “That’s why I left, and that’s why I try to live as true to myself as possible”.

Kat nods, “You’re right, I think people have this perception about Muslims and Islam as being so incredibly strict; but you’re right, we’re all more than just what our faith asks of us.” Adena nods, “Yeah of course, and as for the cigarettes, it’s a very bad thing that I’ve taken to when I’m stressing out.” “Yeah babe, please quit that.” Kat says shaking her head, picking the vegetable peeler back up.

“What’s wrong?” Adena says, moving in front of Kat, trapping herself between Kat and the sink, “You don’t like the way my hair stinks of smoke?” she asks playfully. “Baby, I’ll like you no matter what you’re hair smells like” Kat says, “But I don’t have to tell you that smoking is bad for you”.

Adena pouts her lips, reaching up to cup Kat’s cheek, “You’re sweet. And you’re right, I’m sorry, I won’t smoke my once in blue moon cigarettes anymore”. “Good” Kat murmurs before leaning closer to kiss Adena. The usual taste of Adena’s coconut lip balm is replaced with the sour taste of tobacco. Kat pulls away shaking her head, “I love kissing you, but the tobacco taste has got to go” she says. Adena laughs covering her mouth, “I’m so sorry”.

 

 

Adena learns even more about America from Kat. Adena knows New York, she could tell you where to get the best Filipino food, where to get the freshest vegetables, the fastest way to get into Queens, and where the best spot to be at sunset is. But Adena doesn’t know much about America, the expanse of states that fills up the rest of the country. Adena learns just how big America really is, and that not every American has a shining blue passport and is itching to use it. 

"You'd be surprised, some people live in this country their whole lives and don't bother to leave it, even for a few days." Kat told her once. Adena becomes intrigued with all the different states and is thoroughly annoyed when she learns that “Arkansas” is not pronounced the way it looks. Kat, on the other hand, loves the way Adena says Orlando, Florida. "Persians pulls words apart, we pronounce every vowel. Everyone else swallows them up, especially Americans" she says, narrowing her eyes at Kat.   
  
Kat learns that there are far too many terms of endearment in Farsi. They're in bed one lazy Sunday morning before Adena goes to her yoga class. Kat always whines because it makes her feel unproductive when Adena works out. "Babe, don't go today, c'mon. We can do some cardio in bed, and then I'll make you breakfast" Kat says with a smile and a quirk of her eyebrow, propping herself up on her elbows as Adena tries leaving the warm bed.   
  
"Cheeky" Adena says as she throws a t-shirt at Kat. She sits on the edge of the bed to pull her leggings on, and Kat crawls over to hug her from behind, resting her chin on Adena's shoulder. "C'mon stay, _joooooonam_ ” She teases. Kat quickly learned that Adena has trouble resisting her whenever Kat tries speaking in Farsi. Adena's eyes soften and she usually reaches for Kat's cheek whenever she tries using a word or two.   
  
"You're going to have to pull out some new words soon, _azizam,_ " Adena teases, playfully knocking her head against Kat’s. “Well it’s not my fault you only call me _joonam,”_ Kat says. Adena pulls her head back, turning to face Kat, “Oh, that is not true! I call you other things all the time”. “Hmm, like what?” Kat replies, trying to bother Adena enough that she’ll forget about yoga all together. 

“ _Azizam, dilaam, delbaram, jigaram, nâzi, nâzineen…”_ Adena starts counting them off on her hand. “Woah, woah, woah” Kat waves her hand, “Slow down” she drawls, she scoots back on the bed and pats the empty space beside her, “You gotta tell me slowly so I can remember, come here”. Adena narrows her eyes at Kat, “You’re trying to make me late for yoga, aren’t you?” Kat feigns offense, bringing her hand to her chest, “I would never Adena El-Amin, I’m just trying to improve my Farsi.”

Adena rolls her eyes and decides she can deal with being a few minutes late. She sits cross legged on the unmade bed facing Kat, “Okay, ready? _Azizam”_ Kat repeats it slowly “Azeez-am?”

Adena nods, “ _Barikala_ , good job”. “Wait, what does it mean though,” Kat asks, trying her best to keep Adena’s attention. “ _Azizam_ means my dear” Adena says, “Okay next, _dilaam_ , which means my heart”. “Dil-am” Kat repeats. “Mhm, very good, then there’s _delbaram_ which means the one who took my heart,” Adena says.

“Wait, seriously? That’s super cheesy,” Kat says giggling, “It’s also cute, okay, dil-bar-am”.

“This one is funnier, you know what _jigaram_ means? It literally means my liver” Adena says with a smile.

“My liver?” Kat throws her head back laughing. Adena reaches over and pushes her until she’s lying on her back. “Hey,” Adena says trying to scold her, as she crawls over Kat until she’s hovering over her, her knees nearly pinning Kat down.

“Oh hi, my liver” Kat says, looking up at Adena. Adena’s hair falls around Kat’s face like a curtain, kissing her temples. “Hi _jigaram_ ,” She says in response. “Jigar-am” Kat finally repeats.

“You know why we use that as a term of endearment?” Adena asks, still hovering above her. Kat shakes her head; Adena answers her own question, “Because you can’t live without your liver, that’s how important the person is to you”. Kat smiles and repeats, “Jigar-am”.

“Good, there you go, and then there’s _nâzi_ or _nâzineen_ , which is like sweetie”. “Naz-ee” Kat repeats. “ _Afareen_ , you got them, now go practice those while I go to yoga” Adena leans down to kiss Kat before getting up. Kat quickly wraps her arms around Adena’s waist to hold her in place, and deepens the kiss before Adena can protest.

Adena finally whines, and pulls herself away from Kat, “I’m really late for yoga, aren’t I?” Kat blindly reaches for her cellphone checking the time, she smiles when she sees the time, “Oh yeah, it’s 11:15” she says with a smile. Adena narrows her eyes at Kat, trying her best to look annoyed. “Whoops,” Kat shrugs, “I can’t help myself when I have such a gorgeous Farsi tutor” she says snaking her arms around Adena’s neck, trying to fuse their lips back together.

Adena dodges Kat’s lips, instead planting slow soft kisses on her cheek, her forehead, her eyelids and her chin. Kat used to squirm and blush under the achingly pure display of affection until she learned that Adena is trying to tell her something with each kiss, _you’re beautiful, you’re precious, I could never hurt you, trust me._ Now Kat basks in the shower of kisses, her heart always drumming away in her chest whenever it happens.

Adena’s kisses a path to Kat’s ear, “Now you owe me cardio and breakfast,” she says playfully before biting softly on Kat’s ear. Kat laughs, “My pleasure,  _joonam”._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lavashak = Persian fruit leather  
> Salamaati = Cheers, more specifically a wish for good health  
> Kojaee joonam = Where are you, sweetheart?  
> Azizam = My dear  
> Dilaam = My heart  
> Delbaram = The one who took my heart  
> Jigaram = My liver (an actual term of endearment in Farsi)  
> Nâzi/Nâzineen = Sweet/Sweetie  
> Barikala = Good job  
> Afareen = Well done

**Author's Note:**

> Bebakhshen, mesha man ra be keefam komak kunnen? = Excuse me, can you help me with my bag?  
> Baleh khanum = Yes miss  
> Khahesh mikonam = You’re welcome  
> Merci = thank you (informal)  
> Tashakur = thank you (formal)  
> Doostet kheli khoshgele = you’re friend is very pretty  
> Areh khanum, rast megen = Yes miss, you’re right
> 
> Hiya, I'm also myoldfriend on Tumblr!


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